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A tricky Thursday crossword by Damon Gulczynski, one which may (or may not) presage what the NYTimes serves up on Friday and Saturday. For those of you new to crosswords, welcome, and be aware that in the NYTimes puzzles typically increase in difficulty over the course of the week, Monday being easiest, Saturday being the most difficult (sometimes fiendishly so), with Sunday usually characterized as a "large Wednesday".

Show note imagery: Bart STARR, two-time Super Bowl MVP

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A debut crossword by Shaun Phillips, with a theme that's sure to grab you, among a captivating coterie of clever clues. A few worthy of note include the enlightening 41D, Possessive that's often confused with a contraction, WHOSE; the pithy 34A, 3/14, PIDAY; and one of our favorite phrases, 7D, "Cool _______!", BEANS.

Show note imagery: A Wisconsin ICEHUT in situ, and if you haven't removed yours from the lake yet ... don't even bother 😀

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Something to sing about, a nice, not TOOCUTE Tuesday crossword by Sarah Sinclair and Amie Walker that has a musical theme, the second in two days! Is Joel Fagliano trying to tell us something? Regardless, we got a good VIBE from this puzzle, and would PREFER to see more from these constructors in the weeks/months/years to come!

Show note imagery: Some GENOVIA swag

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Today's crossword won't put you INASPOT, nor drive you UPATREE, thanks to Laura Dershewitz's cruciverbally MADSKILLS. What this crossword will do is put you in a good mood, at least it did for us, for reasons that are spelled out in today's episode.

Show note imagery: A scene from AIDA

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For those of you who've forgotten your philosophy class, you might want to bone up on the subject before tackling today's crossword, for reasons that will become apparent ... as soon as you've tackled today's crossword! We enjoyed the theme, as well as the cracklingly good clues that accompanied it, that goodness courtesy of today's author, John Ewbank, with editorial assistance from Joel Fagliano.

Show note imagery: A true Scotsman? 😀

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Today's puzzle, courtesy of Ricky J. Sirois, was a definite challenge for one of our cohosts, whereas the other had to verify that it was indeed a Saturday crossword, so quickly did they tear through the grid. But both did enjoy the solve, as some of the clues were absolutely inspired. For all the deets, as well as the announcement of this week's JAMCOTWA (Jean And Mike Crossword Of The Week Award) winner, have a listen to today's episode.

Show note imagery: The Raft of the Medusa, absolutely no relation whatsoever to the Ship of THESEUS

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An educational Friday crossword, with not too much razzle-dazzle, rather, just the right amount. Educationally, we had clues like 20A, River traveled by passenger boats known as dahabeahs, NILE; 17A, Setting of a date for Edward and Vivian in "Pretty Woman", OPERA; and 15A, Strait of ___, narrowest part of the English Channel, DOVER.

Besides the crossword, we also have a terrific Fun Fact Friday™ segment, so do check it out.

Show note imagery: Royal BURPEE, inventor of, of course, the BURPEE

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An astronomy-themed crossword popped up this Thursday, a theme so near and dear to Mike's heart that he spent ... an inordinate amount of time contemplating the clues. Jean, on the other hand, solved the puzzle at nearly the speed of light, which explains why she looked like a strand of spaghetti as she was finishing up.

Besides the ingenious theme, there were quite a few clues worthy of note in the grid, including 17A, Actor Omar, EPPS (not, as our instincts suggested, SHARIF); 5D, An "e-", one that was first developed in 2003, for short, CIG (if you say so!); 31A, Orthodontic device, SPACER (suspiciously close to the theme, surely no accident!); and finally 9D, Festoons with bathroom tissue, informally, TPS (the second reference to the practice this week, is editor Joel Fagliano's house under attack, and this is some sort of desperate appeal for assistance??

Show note imagery: Harold ARLEN, composer of Over the Rainbow, hard at work.

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